Snapper are biting in Marathon

[drichitt]

Had a nice day out on the Ocean side today. Had a narrow window after a thunder storm rolled through to get out and back before some forecasted winds were to hit. I haven't fished the Keys for 5 years but I really like fishing the Ocean and know the various patch reefs spread throughout Hawks Channel are good spots to look. Today was no exception as we rolled over an area called East Turtle Shoal/Reef. The HDS lit up as we saw the bottom go from 28' up to 15'. No need being too picky so I positioned ourselves up wind/current and dropped the wreck anchor. I picked up one of those Mighty Mite wreck anchors 5 years ago and have never regretted it. Skip is just too far away to call with GPS # for a lost anchor.

Today was our first day of fishing so I had not had a chance to finish rigging everything but did get my wife set-up to fish the way she likes to. We got the chum block in the bag and over the side. Dawn likes to use a lightly weighted hook and drift a live shrimp back in the chum slick. It didn't take her long to start hauling in some nice Mangrove and Yellowtail snapper. The Mangroves were pretty nice with most in the 14-16" range. The Yellowtail were a bit small and averaged around 12" which is keeper sized. Dawn caught a few nicer ones so those went in the cooler. We like fishing the reefs in the deeper water for the larger yellowtail. I did catch a nice 2' Cero Mackerel. Caught him right in the lip which it the only reason I caught him. We had plenty of cut-offs and I am sure these toothy critters were to blame. We caught plenty but only kept enough for a few dinners for us and a neighbor.

Reef fishing is a blast but planning to chase some Dophin soon. Last report about the Gulf stream is showing it less than 15 miles off of Marathon.




These guys showed up the minute we turned the corner into our canal. And yup The Hunter is happy not being in single degree temps

[5th Tuition]

SWEET
5th

[mark1234]

Nice job Don and Dawn. You guys certainly knew when to get out of town. Was going to send you a pic of the snow you missed.
Keep us posted when you hook up with a mutton or grouper. They are a blast to fight. You won't want to come back and catch stripers.

[Chessie27]

please note that is me being green with envy but also smiling cause I'm glad your having a great time!! Headed to single digits tonight so try not to miss home too much!
What time should we be there for dinner??

[Skip]

Don , go ahead and snag up your anchor - I'll be there in 12 hours

Thanks for posting - will warm us up. Predicted below 10* Tuesday morning - BRRRRRRRRRR.


Monday, 6
Clear
31 | 4 °F
Clear
Chance of
Precipitation0%
Tuesday, 7
Clear
16 | 12 °F
Clear
Chance of
Precipitation0%
Wednesday, 8
Clear
33 | 24 °F
Clear
Chance of
Precipitation0%
Thursday, 9
Partly Cloudy
41 | 29 °F
Partly Cloudy
Chance of
Precipitation0%
Friday, 10
Overcast
43 | 38 °F
Overc

[cletus9000]

Thanks for the report. Love the Keys fishery. Have been down there the past three years and rented a boat for a week. The reef is guaranteed action and if the weather is decent blue water fishing isn't far off. Good luck on the mahi if you go. If trolling, I like to run a small bird in front of a small bubbler type chugger head lure way back behind the dolphin spread. Often good for a tuna or two.

[garlien]

Nice catch...Wish I could be there...Ah someday !

[1morecast]

Way to go Don!Sure looks warm down there.

[drichitt]

Got "out" to the blue water yesterday. The northern edge of that meandering warm flow of water was only 3.5 miles off the beach. That's closer than running from Sandy Point ramp to TPL. It was almost too calm. As most of you know, I am fairly new to the offshore stuff but am a quick learner and will put my time in to learn.

Didn't find many bunches of floating sargassum grass but what we found we worked. I had set-up a spread of 4 trolling rods; 3 of them rigged with Billy Baits (Mini Turbo Slammers in lime green and pink trimmed with mylar) and one with a pink Rattle Jet. Worked up to 10-12 miles offshore but never found much activity. Did find some Bonita chasing bait and picked up 5-6 small Bonita in the 24-28" range. Not what I was hoping for but every trip is a learning experience and boy is that blue water beautiful. I have a few local fishing friends that are helping me get organized and am open to any help and suggestions from my northern brethren. Thanks cletus9000.....off to the local tackle shop. I have a few 3-4" chugger type surface plugs; what size did you use and what trolling speed would you suggest?

[cletus9000]

I use the ones from Reel Draggin Tackle (link below). I'm sure you can find something similar in a local shop. The bird makes a nice commotion in the water bringing the fish up while the jet head leaves a bubble stream in the water that looks like a fleeing bait fish. You're trying to match the hatch with flying fish (I assume there are still some down there this time of year?), so small-ish, blue and white is my go to. Small blue bird maybe 36 to 48 inches in front of the lure. Here are some pics that sort-of show the set up and some small dolphin and tuna caught a few years ago in the summer. Good luck out there!

lure.jpg

mahi.jpg

tuna1.jpg

http://reeldraggintackle.com/collect...ead-multi-port